Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pesticide and fungicide, and more particularly relates to a slow release copper silicate product that may be used as a pesticide and fungicide, and also as an algaecide and insecticide.
Copper compounds have previously been used as pesticides, insecticides, algaecides and fungicides in a variety of liquid and solid forms. Use of copper compounds as fungicides is particularly common. However, known copper fungicides and pesticides are generally either phytotoxic, and are therefore fatal to young plants thus restricting the manners of use, or are only able to be provided as mainly insoluble powders which lose toxicity relatively quickly, are difficult to apply in some instances (being unable to be absorbed) and are only suitable for topical applications where the weather conditions (wind and rain) will not adversely disperse them.
Copper silicate is known for use as a fungicide and algaecide. However, copper silicate has traditionally only been used in solid form when precipitated from solution. This has caused copper silicate products to be seriously restricted in their commercial activities.